All the Way
by berry-cool
Summary: Jyn and Cassian were doomed in their world - but when they wake up in ours, is fate destined to repeat itself? Perhaps. if they can figure this new world out, they might even get the change to turn a 'would have been' into a 'will be'. Regular updates coming :)
1. Prologue

It was warm, very warm, and not because it was a beautiful beach planet, but because of sweat and the blood and the grime that coated them both.

Her hands ran over his on the beach, his eyes met hers.

Jyn heard his words, words telling her than her father would be proud of her. The words hit in her heart but instead of wounding it, they spread out like a balm, healing all the hurt she had stored up from over the years.

Their embrace was soft, perfect, their bodies fitting in with one another like two halves of a whole.

He would be her would have been, could have been, should have been. But as she held him and he her, that was enough.

"The end of all things," she whispered, and she felt his grip tighten on her back.

The ground was trembling now, trembling in anticipation as the light grew brighter: and the roaring was loud, so loud that had it been any other day she would have been able to hear herself think. But in this moment right now her thoughts had never been clearer.

"Together," he whispered, and the word echoed in her mind like a beacon home. After all, that was what he had said to her, wasn't it? Welcome home.

The lights were almost upon them now, and she clung to him tightly.

 _Together._

 _Together._

 _Together._

Then the light was upon them.

And Jyn Erso opened her eyes.


	2. Chapter One

The first thing she noticed was how cold it was: how clear the air smelled, how quiet it sounded.

Jyn kept her eyes shut, her hands clenched on the one thing she was sure of in this world: the man that she could still feel under her fingertips.

And then, his voice.

"Jyn," he said.

"Shh," she replied, her voice no more than a whisper. "Don't you hear how peaceful it is?"

"Yes," he said. "But Jyn, you need to open your eyes."

But she did not open them. Not then, not yet. After she had been abandoned by Saw Gerrera every time she closed her eyes it was a risk: a risk that when she would open them there would be a barrel in her face. If this would be the final sleep, she didn't want to wake up, just in case.

She felt his breath by her ear, warm.

"Trust me, Jyn," she heard him say, his voice sounding better than it had ever done before. "Open your eyes."

His hands moved away from her, and at that motion she forced her eyes open.

She flinched at the brightness of the light before her eyes slowly adjusted to the images before her. She was still kneeling, her and Cassian, though he had broken their embrace, and instead his hands were holding her own.

They were in a field, what seemed to be a park: trees dotted around the fringes of the grassy expanse, and what looked like a path wound away several feet away from them.

"Where are we?" she whispered, even though they were both alone.

"I don't know," Cassian replied. "I have never believed in an afterlife. Not like this."

"Neither have I," said Jyn. "But it looks as though we have both been proven wrong."

Jyn was suddenly aware of the moisture soaking through her trousers at the knees, chilling her skin. She bent her leg to get to her feet when all of a sudden Cassian cried out.

"Ah!"

Jyn caught him before he bent over double, his hand clutching the wound at his side. The wound that had been made when he had tried to protect her from Orson Krennic.

"Cassian," she said, reaching down to properly look at the wound. It was deep. So deep that if it was not patched up soon... "Cassian, can you put your arm around my neck?"

She felt his left hand snake around her neck and grip against her shoulder. Then together, she helped push him to standing. Every step was painful, seeming ten or twenty times more so than when they had made that slow trek from the Imperial tower to shorefront on Scarif.

Twenty-five, thirty steps and they eventually made it to the fringe of the park. Together they staggered between two trees. Jyn looked left, then right. They looked like...

"Houses?" said Cassian, surprised. "Are these - gahh -"

He slumped against her so suddenly that she almost fell down on the ground herself. The blood was seeping through his clothes more quickly now, dyeing not only the dirty beige shirt but now the top half of his trousers too.

Jyn looked at the rows of houses lining the road ahead of her. Here they were, lost, in a world that could be... that could be anything, anywhere. Yet she did know one thing: Cassian was dying and if she didn't figure something else out quickly, she'd lose him, the one friend she had in this place. The closest thing she had to - to anyone since Saw, really.

She broke out of her train of thought when she heard barking behind her. Coming quickly towards them was a creature on four paws, covered in fur and with eyes fixed precisely on them. Jyn took hold of Cassian as firmly as she could, trying to draw him away, but there wasn't the time.

Jyn frowned. Up close this small, furry creature seemed less scary than it had from a distance, and right it behind was a human, running at full pelt with its eyes on the animal.

"Molly!" called out the human. Jyn's eyes widened. Was that... Basic? "Molly, don't go running off like that. God I'm so sorry, she just - Oh my god!"

The human - if she indeed was human - was a woman that was the same age as her mother the last time Jyn had seen her. Her hair was already greying at the roots, clear crows feet crinkling at the corner of her eyes. She knelt down beside her animal with a look of genuine concern on her face before quickly taking out a device that looked like a small slab. Her fingers ran over it quickly.

"My friend," Jyn said quickly, as she felt Cassian's head droop against her shoulder. "He needs help, please. Can you -"

"Yeah, I'd like an ambulance, please," said the older woman, her eyes on Cassian.

"Sorry?" Jyn frowned, before realising that the woman was speaking into the bar that was now held up to her ear. A communication device, then.

"Yes, we're at Thomas Memorial Park. West Entrance, along London Road. I've got a man here who's hurt. It looks like... it looks like he's shot. Yes, I'll stay put."

The woman looked up at Jyn, moving the comms device from her ear to her chest.

"I've phoned for an ambulance. They're on their way...?"

"Jyn," Jyn said, before instantly wishing she hadn't given her real name. Perhaps the woman didn't hear it properly. "I mean -"

But the woman had put the comms device back to her ear.

"Yes, yes, thank you."

"I'm Valerie," said the woman. "Good to meet you Jyn."

She internally winced. Well, that was something she couldn't take back now. Jyn blinked and tried to ignore the white flashes that had started to appear in front of her eyes.

"How the hell did he get like this?" said the woman named Valerie, leaning forward to get a better look at Cassian's wound, even though Jyn shielded him with her body as much as she could. "Is that a gunshot wound?"

Jyn swallowed.

"Jesus," said Valerie, scooping up her dog. "I didn't think we had anything like this out here. Gang culture in Fordham... no wonder my next door neighbour won't let her kids play outside."

And then Jyn heard the sirens and she fought the impulse to run. They weren't going anywhere, not when Cassian's legs could barely keep him standing.

"Oh, thank god," she heard the woman say, and Jyn looked up.

A vehicle was coming towards them, coloured in the brightest yellow with green chequered stripes on it. On its side she saw the words 'emergency ambulance' stamped in red capital letters. It drew up to the curb and two figures dressed in green jumpsuits - human, again - got out and ran towards them. Valerie was shouting something Jyn barely heard and the jumpsuited humans caught Cassian before he fell. Someone gently moved Jyn aside as they knelt by him. He was barely moving now, his eyes closed, the blood seeping out onto the pavement.

"No," said Jyn, her voice cracking. Her head felt so painful, and her legs... "No, I have to stay with him."

The two people in green were talking fast, saying words in Basic she did not understand, neither paying attention to her. And there was barking again. She was sure she could hear barking...

The floor started to move before her eyes, her head span, and Jyn Erso lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter Two

Jyn heard her surroundings before she saw them. The bustle of people, the beeping of machines, conversations in Basic. Then she registered that there was something stuck in her arm. Panic made her open her eyes and sit up instantly. She looked down. She was not wearing the clothes she had on Scarif but instead had on a gown, flat and shapeless, covered in an odd and sterile pattern of blue dots. Her eyes followed the item stuck in her arm, a tube which trailed all the way up to a clear pouch that was suspended from a metal stand. On her other side, screens beeping and all around her, a curtain in some shade of dirty teal that cut her vision off from anything beyond.

She barely had to think as she twisted herself off the bed, pulled out the tube, and stood up. At once she was struck with something so dizzy that it made her head spin and Jyn had to force herself to stay standing. Then she walked down to the end of the bed and forced the curtain open.

Around her were other cubicles just like her own, all walled off by curtains.

 _Cassian_ , she thought. _Need to find Cassian._

The floor was cold on her feet but it barely registered for her as she turned down the corridor between the cubicles and pressed ahead.

"Miss?" she head a voice say. She ignored it and continued to walk the length of the room.

"Miss?" said the voice again.

She heard footsteps walking fast behind her and she picked up the pace in kind until she was out of the room and in another corridor. People in white coats and shifts took no notice of her and continued about their business. She looked left and right. Directions pointing right indicated cardiology, A&E, West Wing whilst directions pointing left were labelled with restaurant and Children's ward.

Jyn felt a hand on her arm and without thinking she jerked her arm back. The hand relinquished but instead she was confronted by a woman in a white coat: tall, dark skinned, a frown gracing her face.

"What are you doing out of bed?" she asked.

"Where am I?" said Jyn, ignoring the question.

"Royal Guildshire Hospital," the Doctor said without thinking. "I'm going to have to ask you to get back in the bed, Miss."

She tried to lean around the woman, but the woman blocked her view.

"I need to find my friend," said Jyn. "He's hurt - was hurt - I don't know. Do you know where he is?"

The woman's eyes ran over her face, and then she softened.

"If you get back in your bed, I'll help you find your friend. Okay?"

Jyn didn't move.

"He had a shot wound to the lower abdomen," she said. The doctor's eyes widened.

"That one?" came the reply. "He's out of surgery, resting in another ward."

"Can I go and see him, please?"

"You haven't been checked up, miss. If you'll please sit back in your bed I'll have someone get you checked up before seeing if you can be escorted to see your friend."

In another world, another life, perhaps - Jyn still wasn't sure - she would have kicked and punched her way out of the situation, but in truth her head was starting to spin again, her muscles screamed in pain and hunger gnawed in her belly.

"My friend is alright?" she asked again, needing to be sure.

"He's stable, out of critical condition, yes," said the woman, gently taking her arm.

Jyn allowed herself to be led back to her cubicle, back to her bed, and she feel back into sleep before her head hit the pillow.

She woke up again with a start at a heavy metallic sound that made her jerk up defensively. There was a nurse beside her, looking over at her colleague in the cubicle next door who had dropped a dish on the floor.

"Are you alright?" asked the nurse. He smiled at her through tired eyes. "You've had some sleep."

"Will you take me to see my friend?" she asked. "One of the doctors said you'd be able to."

The nurse nodded.

"I know, she told me. You're friends with that one, the one that got himself all vicious, am I right? Whole hospital's been buzzing about that one."

Jyn frowned, trying to place his accent in case that helped her identify where she was. When it didn't she pressed on.

"Will I be able to go and see him now?" she said, allowing some desperation - something Jyn would not usually let herself show - come through her eyes in case that helped her case.

The nurse bent his arm into a crook.

"Come on then," he said sympathetically. "You're friend's been resting easy."

She memorised every turn in the corridor, every elevator up and every button press and clearance.

Then they were in front of a door. There were signs on it in - Jyn jolted... was that High Galactic? But the moment passed as though the window panel she caught Cassian lying on a bed dressed in the same unflattering smock she was. She breathed such a heavy sign of relief that she thought it would tear right through her.

The nurse quietly opened the door and allowed her to walk inside. She rushed forwards, ignoring the pain in her calves as she did so, and grasped his hand.

"Cassian," she said quickly. "Cassian, it's me, Jyn."

When he did not stir, she looked over at the nurse, who still stood respectfully by the door.

"You're sure he's alright?" she said, worried.

"Sure he is," the Nurse replied. "He's just been due a whole backlog of rest, that's all."

She breathed in and out. And then, in her hands she felt fingers twitch.

Jyn was once more close in at his side in a flash.

"Jyn," she heard him breathe. The noise calmed her soul.

"Yes, Cas," she said. "It's me."

"I knew you would come," he said, his eyes still shut. "I knew you wouldn't leave me alone."

She squeezed his hand. Her eyes felt rather hot all of a sudden.

"Home, remember?"

"Yes," he said, his eyes slowly opening. A lazy grin spread across his face.

"How are you feeling?" she replied.

"Good," he said. "Now better, to see a friendly face."

She saw his eyes flicker over to the door, where the nurse still stood, right foot tapping on the cold floor absentmindedly.

"Did you figure out where we are yet?" he whispered.

"Not yet," she replied. "We're in the Royal Guildshire Hospital, which I think is in Fordham, but I don't know what those words mean. What system we're in, what planet? I've no idea."

Cassian nodded.

"I'm in a different ward to you," she said. "You're lucky, with a room all to yourself."

He laughed until it burst into coughing and he clutched his chest.

"Good for listening opportunities though," he said.

Jyn nodded. She would get herself and Cassian out of his place when he was better and then, so help all the moons and stars in the galaxy, she would once and for all find out what was going on.


	4. Chapter Three

Perhaps it was the fact that he was being fed consistently for the first time in god knows how long, and they every face that came into see him only ever wanted to help him, but Cassian Andor was actually starting to like his time in this hospital. He wasn't ever going to admit it of course, least of all to himself, but every day that he woke up, opened his eyes and realised that he was still in the hospital he allowed himself just a few moments of relaxation knowing that it was incredibly unlikely that anyone here was out to kill him.

Then he saw the tubes in his arms and the loose hospital gown that hung around him and he remembered that he wasn't a guest in a plush hotel but a stranger in a world that Jyn had yet to place.

She would come to see him at least twice a day, three times sometimes, and she'd always sneak over some items in her pockets. Chocolate shells coated in sugar, gummed sweets that got stuck in his teeth and drinks tasting so sweet that they conjured up memories he thought he had forgotten from back in the days when he had living relatives. Perhaps it was the candy, perhaps it was the joy of Jyn's company, but Cassian had never laughed more than when he sat up in his awkward hospital bed opposite Jyn, her legs crossed underneath her as she sucked orange juice from a carton.

That was another thing too, Cassian realised. There were different Basic words here for things that were otherwise familiar. _Oranges, sweets, chocolate..._

He snapped back into the present as he remembered Jyn was talking to him. She often talked just about the hospital: the nurses, doctors, the layout of the building, but today -

"The doctors," he heard her say. "They were asking me all sorts of questions today, where I grew up, if I had any difficult experiences, that kind of thing. They seemed... they seemed concerned."

He frowned, popping a candy into his mouth.

"Concerned?" he said. "Concerned how?"

"They said -" Jyn lowered her voice. "They said they couldn't find me on any kind of register."

"Well of course," said Cassian, lowering his tone to match hers. "Only makes sense."

"And those they have screens telling the news," Jyn continued. Cassian had heard her mention those before. _Televisions._

"They were talking about some famous singer in hospital yesterday. It's all they were talking about," she said between sips. "But today they were talking about some summit, Gee-8 or something, said it was to do with to do with their world leaders. We're in a country called the United Kingdom."

Cassian raised his eyebrows.

"That's an optimistic country name," he said. "Are they as United as they say?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But I think this United Kingdom is in Europe and they call this planet Earth. They were mentioned something called global warming..."

The words baffled Cassian. Again with the Basic that seemed so alien and yet so familiar!

"But is there the Empire?" he said. "Any Rebellion?"

The look on Jyn's face - both distressed and angry for being so - made Cassian's heart ache for reasons he could not quite understand.

"I don't know," she said, her voice slipping from informative to exhasperated. "I keep hearing references to this man called - oh, what was it, Clump, Frump - well, this man that people keep calling awful but as far as I know there's no Darth anything in sight."

This news, while it should have assured Cassian, instead unsettled him for the lack of knowledge they still had about this new world. The enemy he knew about he could deal with, the enemy he didn't even know existed... that was another matter.

There was a rap on the door and a nurse poked his head in.

"Miss Erso?" he said. "Shall we head back now?"

Jyn squeezed Cassian's hand quickly and gave him a look which he had recently been able to read easily: _I'll find out more. We'll be safe, don't worry._

Cassian worried anyway.

When she was gone he leant back in his bed and allowed his mind to wander. The ultimate fantasy, the ultimate possibility was that they had woken up somewhere new: a new world - no, universe - where nothing either of them had ever known existed. No Empire, no Rebellion, no pain, no loss, just a clean slate to move forward. But this possibility was so beautiful, so improbable that Cassian had thus far pushed it out of his mind.

Yet as he lay back on his pillow at present Cassian began to entertain ideas of what he might do if this new world really was just as he dreamed. Perhaps he would find a way to get a small house, him and Jyn. _Did this world have money?_ Oh yes, she had mentioned there was. _Pounds,_ she had called them. And perhaps they would start a farm or something, she mentioned her parents had done that. But what would he do? He didn't know. A spy spent so much time dreaming up different identities and motivations and yet when it came to himself... no, perhaps he'd do something where he'd get to work with children. He hadn't had a childhood. If he could give a childhood to other kids... yes. Yes, he'd like that.

He wasn't sure if Jyn would want to start up a farm though. The more he thought about it the more he realised that she surely wouldn't want to live a life so quiet when she had this whole new world at her feet. A new world where she could be anything... and then a thought struck him. She could be anything, do anything. Who's to say she'd want to do that with him around? If there was no Empire, no Rebellion, she didn't have to have him around any more...

For some reason the thought made him squirm in the pit of his stomach, in such a manner that made him feel sick. But in a moment of saving grace there was another knock on his door.

A woman in a black uniform, all suited up with a fixed smile on her face, looked through the gap in the door behind the nurse that had knocked.

"I have someone that would like to speak with you, if you're feeling quite well?" the nurse said. "This is Detective Lang."

"Detective Lang?" he repeated, confused.

The suited woman took a step forward so that she was clearly in the room, all a sharply cut blonde bob and glossy shoes.

She flicked open a pass holder that showed an official license Cassian didn't recognise or see clearly.

"Detective Lang," the woman said. "Guildshire Police Department."


	5. Chapter Four

Cassian sat in normal clothes next to Jyn, as people walked up and down the empty corridor as they weren't there at all.

"They said it would be a nice place," said Jyn, after a while.

Cassian nodded.

"Near the city centre," Jyn continued. "But just not in the nicest place because there weren't any council houses in the most expensive part of the city."

Cassian nodded again.

"They said it was going to be clean and safe, though."

Cassian took a deep breath, and nodded again. He felt Jyn's hand grasp his own, and he turned towards her.

"Cassian, are you alright?"

He nodded, and saw Jyn raise an eyebrow.

"I was just thinking about our friends," he said. "And if they survived like us."

In truth, that hadn't been the main thing on Cassian's mind. What he had initially been thinking about was the verbal dressing down him and Jyn had received over the past few days by these police people.

They had learnt some useful things. There was a police force, they were forbidden to use any aggressive forms of physical violence unless in exceptional circumstances and upon first impressions Cassian thought that this world must be peaceful indeed if all their police people needed to do was walk around and talk to people in order to resolve any crimes.

But he had found the interrogations draining, even from the comfort of his hospital bed.

After three days of questions and questions and more questions the police had come to this conclusion: Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor had been two young backpackers that had been mugged and attacked as they travelled through Fordham. Jyn and Cassian's inability to describe where they came from or in fact, any precise details about their past only served to cement the notion that the severity of their attack had left them with some kind of amnesia, with multiple doctors convinced that with therapy any repressed memories of the attack would resurface.

Jyn and Cassian had been quite still when they heard the police make their decision quietly in the corner of Cassian's room. Jyn had come up with the backpacking story after hearing some story on the news, and the rest neither of them even had to attempt making up, for as their fictional story suggested, neither of them truly knew where they were.

"Mr Andor? Miss Erso?" said a voice.

The two of them turned to look up at the social worker that stood outside her door smiling at them. They followed her into her office and took seats in front of her neat, organised desk.

"How are you both doing?" she asked gently. "Feeling better? The hospital report says that you're in the all clear which is absolutely wonderful."

Beside him Jyn nodded.

"We're both feeling very well, thank you," she said politely.

"I'm glad," the woman replied. "Well, I'm ready to take you to your new home if you're ready to go. I've all the paperwork with me, so I thought it would be nice to get it sorted over there, hm?"

For the first time in over a week Jyn and Cassian were led outside the hospital into the world beyond. Both had been dressed in civilian clothes from this new world that had been donated to the hospital. Cassian knew that Jyn had tried to make a case for them keeping the clothing they had come in, but the hospital had insisted that their old clothes be burned as they were apparently far too filthy for recovering patients to be wearing.

So, dressed in clean t-shirts and jumpers, Jyn and Cassian stood outside the entrance of the Royal Guildshire Hospital as the social worker - who went by the name Jenny - drove a vehicle known in this world as a 'car' came round to pick them up.

She poked her head out of the driver's seat window as pulled up.

"Go on, get in," she said.

Jyn and Cassian shared a glance before he tentatively pulled on what looked like a handle which swung the door open, and the two of them got inside.

They both stared out of the car windows as Jenny drove away from the hospital and towards the town of Fordham. This world was very different from any of the ones Cassian had known. There were buildings, concrete buildings but also plenty of greenery too. People walked with children and animals along pavements, adverts graced sidewalks selling food, toys and the like. It seemed that at no point were these people worried that some ships would descend from the sky and ruin their lives. Every day that passed Cassian became more and more certain that his dream of a new life, a peaceful life, was becoming a reality, but he still wasn't sure if he was able to believe it.

The car pulled up outside a plain, rectangular looking building that Cassian noticed was opposite a school.

"Here we are," said Jenny. "Iris Court. I'm very sure you'll like it here."

And the thing of it was that Cassian did. Sure, it wasn't the neat little farmhouse he pictured in his head but it felt like a home. There were two bedrooms, a clean bathroom, a living room and a kitchen all painted in shades varying from eggshell blue to beige. The countertops were clean, some shiny screen called a television was placed amongst some cosy looking sofas and each bed was big enough to fit not one but two people.

Out of the corner of his eye Cassian looked over at Jyn as Jenny sat down at the dining table and began to take papers out of her bag. Jyn visited each room multiple times, her face looking passive and unmoving, but her eyes wide.

"Cassian, Jyn - may I call you Cassian and Jyn? - would you like to come here?"

Cassian walked over to the woman and saw where she had drawn little crosses on lines printed on the forms in front of her.

"If you'll both just sign there and there it'll mean the apartment is under your care and that you've agreed to the visitations of a social worker once a week in order to check up on how you're doing."

Jyn signed first, her eyes still roving around the room as she did so before passing the pen to Cassian, who followed suit.

"Fabulous," said Jenny, who fished out a black plastic file and placed it on the table.

"Here," she said. "Here are the manuals for the apartment. I noticed there's no computer in here so I'll get someone to send down a cheap laptop for you."

Cassian didn't quite listen as the woman rambled on, then packed up her things, left their keys and some cash on the table 'so they could purchase some food' and left.

The two of the them stood there in silence for some time after the door shut on them.

Jyn turned to Cassian, about to speak when he strode over to her and pulled her in a tight embrace.

"Is this all real?" he heard her ask, as she returned the hug.

"You know," he said, feeling his stomach grumble just a little. "I'm starting to think it just might be."

Cassian smiled to himself. It might not be a farmhouse just yet... but perhaps one day it might be.

"Let's get some food?" he heard Jyn say.

He nodded.

"Let's."


	6. Chapter Five

Jyn looked at the receipt in front of her, and checked the total again against the change in her palm. It was so odd, all the physical money rattling around in her purse - and whose idea was it to come up with paper money? She shook her head at the frankly limp note that was nestled in her palm and shoved the whole lot into a small purse. Then she shoved it in her pocket and stepped outside to begin the short walk back to their apartment.

They had been back to the police station more than once in the past week: the cops there had been kind, asking them some more questions and helping fix them up with temporary identification. Every other day a social worker came around to check on them and a few days ago they had been given a large computer called a 'laptop' and who small items called 'mobiles'. Cassian had used them rather enthusiastically, but Jyn regarded both with a certain amount of irritation. Compared to tech she was used to dealing with these items were positively from the dark ages: they did not respond to voice commands, it took about several different button presses to get anything done, and they seemed to run out of any power after about a few hours.

But she had understood their value, and appreciated a means to keep in contact with Cassian when they weren't in the same place. Then there was this thing called 'Google', which Cassian had become rather good at using, as well as what seemed to be an encyclopedic website called 'Wikipedia'. The first day they had got their laptop they had sat at its screen for hours clicking on page after page until both of them were so tired they had fallen asleep together on the couch.

As Jyn finally reached their apartment block and fumbled with the keys so she could open the door Jyn thought back to that evening and everything they had read. This really was a world with no Empire, no stormtroopers, no Death Star. Damn, these people had barely got past their own moon when it came to intergalactic travel. That's not to say there were no bad people on this world: no, there were bad people on every world, but Jyn had shared a look with Cassian the following morning and she knew they both of them had realised that their fight was truly over.

Both dealt with this in their own way.

Jyn was about to push open the door to their apartment when she paused, key in lock.

There were people talking inside. Their social worker wasn't due to come for another day - _who could it possibly be?_

She strained to hear their voices through the door, but after a few moments of mumbled conversation, and with a heavy plastic shopping bag weighing on her arm, Jyn gave in and pushed the door open.

Cassian was sitting at the kitchen table, face glued to the screen in front of him. Sound coming out of the laptop suggested that whoever he was watching was having a conversation, one that didn't make any sense to Jyn at all.

He pressed a button as she came in, and looked up, smiling.

"How were the shops?" he asked.

Jyn raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Nothing special, as always," she said. "I thought I'd make us pasta tonight. I bought different sauces so you could pick out what you wanted."

He got up off the chair and took the bag from her hand to empty its contents on the kitchen table. Jyn glanced at the open screen where two men were frozen in conversation.

"What's that you're watching?" Jyn asked.

"I found movies online," said Cassian, his voice buzzing with excitement. "I thought we could start watching some of them in out free time."

"All our time is free time," said Jyn casually.

There was silence as Jyn took out a pot, and she turned around, looking at Cassian curiously.

"What is it?" she asked.

Cassian took a deep breath, still gripping a jar of puttanesca.

"Well," he said hesitantly. "I found something."

Jyn placed the pan gently on the countertop.

"You found something."

"Right. I saw something on the news. Reports of a blind man discovered in Hong Kong riddled with wounds and not knowing where he'd come from. Apparently he's in stable condition in a hospital, but police are appealing for anyone who might know him to come forward."

Jyn's mouth dropped open.

"You don't think -" she began, and Cassian nodded.

"I wonder if it's Chirrut," he said softly. "I mean, we're here, aren't we? What if whatever it was that brough us here brought the others here too."

A smile burst over Jyn's face.

"What if we get to see everyone again," she said, smiling. "Where is this Hong Kong, Cassian? We have to go there if there's even a chance Chirrut might -"

"Hong Kong is on the other side of this planet, Jyn," he said, sadness in his voice. "I don't even know how we'd start trying to get there. And then I was thinking about it. About the chance to see everyone again, if all of us were taken here. Jyn, what if really *all of us* were taken here?"

Jyn frowned.

"What do you -" she began. "Oh."

Cassian nodded.

"Right."

She swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Well, surely we'd hear about it if lots of people started showing up on this planet with no idea who they were?"

Cassian nodded and took the pan from the countertop, filling it up with water from the tap.

"That's what I was thinking too," he said, and turned back to her, giving her a smile. "I'm hoping that's good news for us."

Jyn tried to calm all the thoughts racing through her mind as next to her she saw Cassian place the pot on the stove and turn the heat up.

"What are you watching?" she said, for something to distract her.

He grinned as he reached over for the pasta packet.

"I just started it," he said. "It's a film called 'Notting Hill' which this lead character - his name's Will Thacker - has just told me is a place in London."

"That's the capital city of this country, isn't it?" she asked, thinking back to what Wikipedia had told her.

"Right," Cassian replied. "Want to watch it with me? From what I have seen of it so far, it is quite funny."

Jyn reached over to the jar of sauce on the table and opened it absentmindedly.

"You know, I could do with a laugh right now," she said. "Go on, hit that play button."


	7. Chapter Six

It was the softest bed Jyn had ever slept in, and on the first night she had settled into the flat she had slept in it like a log. But as the nights had ticked on she found herself unable to truly get used to the bed: it was too soft, too comfortable, and every time she tried to sleep in it she ended up waking up after a couple of hours scared that something unfamiliar would sneak up on her. It got worse after their social worker Jenny visited for the second time and let them know that they would be put under a probationary period before their case would be looked over again to decide where to go from there.

Cassian had taken it all calmly, had thoroughly looked up everything about the country and its customs that he could possibly find. One thing was certain: if they wanted to find out if the lost monk in Hong Kong was Chirrut, they would need citizenship for a passport and money.

As soon as the woman had left Jyn had turned to him and asked him how much money they needed to be able to get a plane over to this country called Hong Kong.

"Over eight hundred pounds return per person," he replied almost instantly.

The words meant nothing to her, but she knew that even if they scrimped and saved on all the money they were given by social services it would take them months, maybe years before they had enough for even one of them.

But Cassian had seen the worry on her face and had made some microwave pizzas for her. It had worked, if only for a short time before he had gone to bed and Jyn had ended caught up once more in broken sleep.

The clock in the living room had gone twenty-four past two in the morning when she sat on the couch in the living room, her fingers laced together, looking and feeling the most lost since she had arrived in this new world. She had no purpose, no mission and then there was the issue of whether or not that person that might or not be Chirrut... _in another world they would have got on a jet, flown right out of here..._

"Jyn?" she looked up from her place on the sofa to see him walking towards her, a hand brushing bed hair from his face. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I can't sleep," she said quietly. "It's been getting worse since -"

"Since the social worker came the other day," he said. "I could tell."

He settled next to her on the sofa, his head laid back against a pillow.

"This is becoming too much, Cassian," she said quietly. "Look. We still don't know why we're here, how we got here, who else made it - and any answers we might be within reaching of are all too far away. No passport, no money -"

"I thought of some solutions," he mumbled. "But I don't know if they'll work. I - if this is a new chance for us Jyn... I don't want red in my ledger this time. I want to do it right."

Jyn frowned at him.

"There are people we could go to that would give us IDs, documents, illegal documents that would do the trick. We'd need money, but..."

Jyn sat up straight on the couch.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" she said, looking at him. "Cassian, if there's anything we can do, anything to just break us out of this rut -"

"Jyn, didn't you hear what I said?" Cassian replied. "This is our chance to start things off right! We're not on the run, not hunted, not outlawed in a multitude of cities - I know we can't just up sticks and go anywhere we want but for once we're free. No one expects anything from us here except to live and be good people. Would you sacrifice that chance now?"

She moved backwards on the couch, away from him.

"Cassian. We have nothing here. We're waiting on commands from a people we know nothing about and until they past their judgement we just sit and eat and wait and look at that stupid laptop! Is that really what you want?"

Cassian stood up from the couch.

"You really think we have nothing here?" he said.

She heard the hurt in his voice the moment he spoke and she regretted her words instantly.

"Cassian," she said. "I'm sorry, look, I didn't mean you -"

"You're tired, Jyn," he said quietly, turning to walk towards the door. "Just get some rest. We can talk about it in the morning."

She sat there for a long time after she had heard him walk into his room. He never shut his door at night.

After a while she got up from her place on the couch and walked towards the window. Below her the dark streets of the night rolled out beyond her, the simple looking lights illuminating the residential streets. Below her she heard a neighbour watching some programme on a screen or television. Far in the distance she heard a dog bark: short, persistent yaps.

For as long as she could remember she had never been able to stand like this, just stand and look out across the land before her without being afraid that someone might be watching her, or might aim fire if she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The moment sat with her for a long time, seeped into her soul so that she had to swallow to keep her emotions in check.

When she finally moved away from the window it was about ten minutes past four in the morning. Jyn moved lazily, her feet dragging slightly against the floor until she reached his doorway and she slipped inside. He was sleeping deeply - she found he had done that after the first few nights here: sleeping like clockwork, bed at eleven, up at seven, but always a deep sleep. She stood at the edge of his bed for just a moment before slipping under the covers and moving next to him, laying her head against his shoulder.

Her breathing steadied and she hoped even whilst asleep he would understand.

 _I'm sorry_ , this meant. _I don't have nothing here: I have you, always having my back. Like in Jedha, and Eadu, and Scarif. Now it's another world, and I know you will always have my back here as well._ _I'm sorry. Please forgive me. We'll work this out together. We will uncover this mystery, you and I. Let's not fight. I'm sorry._

In the morning Cassian woke to find Jyn sleeping peacefully, huddled against his back. He let her tuck herself into his side as he shifted just a little. As he watched her sleep he knew he had to stay on the straight and narrow this time, no matter what. He needed to do right by her, even if she wanted him so desperately not to.


	8. Chapter Seven

Cassian was not at home the next time the social worker came over to see them. The appointments were every Thursday afternoon at three thirty but earlier at lunchtime Cassian had left the apartment on a whim saying that he'd return with takeout food, a rarity since they had arrived because one meal usually cost as much as half of one week's shop. But he had put on his coat, mumbled out that he was getting her lunch and disappeared.

Ninety minutes later Jyn found herself sitting with Jenny, awkwardly sipping a cup of Twining's camomile tea wondering where to start with the small talk.

"Did your walk down here go alright?" she said, knowing already that it was a five minute walk from Jenny's cul-de-sac to the apartment block.

"Yep, it was great, always nice to do a house visit nearby, means I can go home and see the kids earlier in the day."

Jyn had managed to avoid the long chats about children so far. She knew Jenny had two boys, one seven and one three, and she had been told twice now that they were as boisterous as their father but had the eyes of their mother's mother.

Another fifteen minutes later and she was listening to Jenny launch into a story about their first family vacation.

" - so can you believe it, Arthur forgetting his passport like that! Absolutely mental. I mean it's just as well I like to plan three hours contingency time in case something goes wrong - can you imagine it otherwise! So we rush home, he runs up the stairs and then he's back down a couple of seconds later passport in hand ready to go."

"Oh wow," said Jyn, her mind actually piqued. Perhaps Jenny could give her a clue as to how they could get to this would-be Chirrut stuck in that place called Hong Kong.

She took a sip of her second cup of tea.

"And… then what happened?" she said cautiously.

"Oh gosh don't even get me started!" Jenny continued, taking large bite out of what was possibly her sixth custard cream since she had arrived. "So we get to Heathrow Airport and -"

The sound of keys in the door lock turned both their heads

"Oh, that must be him," said Jenny, through a mouthful of crumbs. "I sure hope that whatever he has brought back for you is worth it."

"Jyn - I'm sorry," Cassian blurted out the moment he was through the door, before he had even looked up to see Jenny sitting there. There were several plastic bags in his hands, far more than there ought to be for even the fanciest meal for two.

He strode straight over to the kitchen and put the bags behind the island and out of sight before lifting up one bag that emanated a delicious smell that Jyn couldn't place.

"Nightmare queues at the restaurant," he said, lifting up several brightly patterned cardboard boxes. "Brand new Italian place I saw the other day."

"Marisol's?" said Jenny, all of a sudden, her head perking up. "Gosh the opening for that is today, isn't it?"

Cassian met Jyn's eyes and one corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile.

"Yeah," he said casually, walking over with two of the cartons in his hands and some cutlery.

"Jenny was telling me about one of her family holidays," Jyn said pointedly, half of her head latching onto the dish he had placed in front of her. It was something called pasta, a slightly bouncy, chewy carbohydrate that she had taken to readily, especially when it was cooked fresh and not from those horrible instant packets that weren't nice no matter what jazzy flavour it claimed it would be.

"Oh really?" Cassian replied, walking back over to the kitchen counter to pick up another carton. "Don't let my lateness interrupt the story any more, then."

* * *

Jenny had finished almost all of the mozzarella garlic bread by the time she left an hour later.

Cassian lay propped against one arm on the floor as full of amusement, he watched the door shut.

"Say what you like, but I always find her stories quite interesting. It gets me through the tedium of all the stuff she has to check over with us," he said casually.

Jyn was about to reply when Cassian quickly got to his feet and strode over to the kitchen.

"I've been thinking about Chirrut, or would be Chirrut -" she began, arching her head up to see where he was going.

"Me too," Cassian replied, coming back round with a bag in his hand to sit next to her on the couch.

"I've been saving a bit every week with the food shop," he explained, as he lifted out a cardboard box featuring a picture of what looked like a phone, or at least a much more basic, depressing looking version of the 'mobiles' they had been given when they had moved into the apartment.

"But I was thinking about it this morning when you were looking up flight costs and all of that, all of these hoops that would have been so hard for us to jump through and I realised if we just found a way to call wherever he is at least we might be able to get to the bottom of things."

He pulled open the box haphazardly while he talked and Jyn sat watching him fiddle with the different leaflets and bits of spare packaging.

"I mean I don't know if the social workers, the council they work for - I have no idea if they're following or tracking us, but I wanted to be safe."

Jyn nodded.

"Of course," she replied quietly, taken by surprise.

He popped open a back panel in the brick-shaped item and produced a small card about the size of a fingernail to slot inside it. Cassian looked up at her as he closed the panel again.

"Can you look up where it said the mystery man was being held?" he asked her.

It took about three minutes of searching on the internet and a couple of turns on an online translator for Jyn to find the number from a local Kowloon bulletin.

She turned the laptop screen for Cassian to see and he passed the phone over to her. Jyn took the phone carefully and glanced back up at him, ready to dial the number. She took a deep breath.

"Shall we?"


	9. Chapter Eight

"They're late," said Jyn, looking down at the black brick phone again as if she could will it to ring. "It's three past nine now. They're late."

Cassian opened his mouth to say something, and shut it again. God knows he didn't have any concrete solutions to placate Jyn with. He saw her look back up at the clock and frown. Without thinking he reached out a hand and placed it on hers, only realising that he did so when she turned to look back into his eyes. He didn't pull his hand away, afraid that if he did it would seem as though his initial gesture was a mistake. So instead he ignored the self consciousness sniping that now emerged in the back of his mind and spoke instead.

"Jyn, I know we both want to know what's going on, why we're here, what this all means, but regardless of whether or not it will be Chirrut on the other end, we'll find a way forward. Both of us, I promise."

He couldn't quite place the look on her face as her eyes searched his and Cassian suddenly and inopportunely became very conscious of fact that the palm of his free hand had ever so slightly begun to sweat - which meant that when it came to the other hand...

He almost let out an audible sigh of relief when the phone rang; a dreadful, tinny tone that made him want to grit his teeth in displeasure. Jyn snatched up the phone quickly and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" she said. "Yes, it is Jyn Erso. Oh - great, yes, we'd love to speak to him. Yes, do put him on the other line."

When they had called the previous day excitement had quickly turned into anxiety as the person they were looking for - this mysterious blind monk - was not in the monastery that had taken him in. Moreover, the friendly woman on the other end of the line told them that the monk refused to speak to almost everyone, be that the press or anyone trying to come in to the monastery to identify him. But nevertheless, they had agreed to call Jyn back the following day at nine in the morning UK time if they managed to persuade the mysterious man to talk to her on the phone after having received their names. And now here they both were, on the phone with someone that for reasons both of them had not discussed with the other, both Cassian and Jyn hoped was Chirrut.

"Hello?" he heard Jyn say. "... oh Chirrut. Chirrut it is you! It is you!"

She looked up from the phone, a broad smile on her face and she grasped Cassian's arm tightly.

"Tell me, are you okay?" she said. "The people there, have they been treating you alright -"

And then she dropped her voice into a whisper.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Her eyes caught Cassian's again as she listened intently to the reply coming from the other end of the phone.

"You don't either... well, is there any way the people there can get you to us? We're -"

He saw Jyn bite her lip in thought.

"Well, we're not imprisoned, but we're unable to come to you. It's - it's complicated..."

"I can ask," said Chirrut, Jyn listening closely on the end of the line. "They speak a language here I am not quite familiar with. It seems vaguely familiar to one that I spoke on my home planet, but there are a few differences. I have been communicating with them in Basic, though they call it 'English' here."

"That's to do with the country we're in," Jyn said quickly, glad to be able to say something that she actually sure of. "We are in a country called England which is part of a bigger state called the United Kingdom. And the country you're in - Cassian and I looked it up - it's called Hong Kong and that's part of a bigger state called China, though I think it was looked after by the United Kingdom for a while but it all seems a little confusing..."

"Are you well?" she heard come through on the other line, his voice steady, calm, the same Chirrut who had gently grasped her hand when she was angry and about to rip into Cassian after Eadu.

"We are," said Jyn. "Alive, eating food, currently feeling non-threatened. It's a nice change."

"I'm glad."

"They have things called phones here that allow short range communications. Very short range. We had to get a new one just to be able to call you because you're in a different state. Can you imagine!"

"I can," she heard light laughter through the receiver. "Look, Jyn. It's quite late here, and I don't want to take advantage of their phone system. I will find a way to call you again at the same time next week."

"Do you have this email thing that they have on this planet?"

"I do not think so, no."

"Okay," Jyn sighed. "I will talk to you the same time next week."

"Jyn," she heard him say, his voice firm. "I know you want answers, that you want to understand what's going on. I will try to find out what I can as well."

Jyn smiled and saw Cassian's eyebrows raise questioningly.

'All good things,' she mouthed. 'All good things.'

"Until next week, then."

"Until then. Goodbye Chirrut. I'm glad it's you. I'm glad you're here."

It was as though she could hear him smiling on the other end of the phone.

"Us Rogue One team have to stick together, do we not?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes we do."

They sat together that evening eating burgers and fries that they had walked out together to buy. Cassian had put music on in the background that Jyn was not familiar with but that she enjoyed.

She popped the last fry in her mouth and watched Cassian as he wandered around the kitchen, clearing up some of the paper wrappers. Jyn cleaned up her fingers with the wipe and looked back up to see Cassian holding out a hand.

"Hm?" she asked.

"Want to dance, Jyn Erso? We've got something to celebrate, after all."

She might have said no, would have said no in their old world, but there was something about the song that he had just turned up, something about the smile on his face, something about the fact that they had found Chirrut and it felt like the first step forward they had taken in a long time in this new world.

She took Cassian's hand, and they danced until the rays of the sun could be seen through the dusty glass of the windows.


	10. Chapter Nine

Cassian had never been so grateful for Chirrut in all the world. Before the Battle on Scarif he hadn't had much time to get to know the man, but the joy he was now bringing Jyn, who looked forward to his calls every week, made Cassian grateful that he had survived for multiple reasons.

"I have written down the food suggestions Chirrut gave me," she said, after she had just ended her third call with their friend. "Apparently we should be able to find some of these items in the supermarket. He says that this item - 'noodles' - are especially delicious if we buy… 'soy sauce'. What do you think?"

"That sounds like a great idea," said Cassian. "Shall we go tomorrow?"

But Cassian had had other things on his mind as well. Since finding Chirrut the mood of the entire flat had lifted. Their friend had told them that the monastery encouraged him to save for some of the cost of his ticket to to the UK, and that they would help when they could. Whilst this did not aid him in getting to them anytime soon, both of them were glad to know that he was hopefully on his way.

Cassian had asked Jenny about getting a job and she had told him the same as he suspected: that it would all come down to what would happen in their assessments by the council and various bodies to determine how fit and healthy they were. Another word hung there that Cassian did not need to hear out loud: 'sane'. Until some decision was made about them, nothing could go forward. Either way, Cassian was willing to bide his time. He had made a list of jobs he thought he could do, went out on runs every morning to keep himself healthy and kept up chores with Jyn. And sometimes, in the quiet hours, he thought about Chirrut and if his coming meant that there were others out there too.

On his job list were the following:

 _Teacher_  
 _Personal Trainer_  
 _Animal Trainer_

There had been other ones: private security, things like that. But then he remembered what he had said to Jyn about starting life fresh and without any red, and he decided that he had to leave that all behind, as much as possible.

He had asked Jyn what things she wanted to do. She rose earlier than him sometimes, but on average the times she woke up were erratic, and Cassian wondered if it was because for the first time in her life that she didn't need to rise regularly and wondered if she was taking advantage of it. Some nights they'd talk until it was almost midnight and Jyn would sleep next to him in bed, talking until he fell asleep and his dreams were filled of whatever stories she told.

"What do you think about getting a dog?" he said, almost absentmindedly.

She looked up from the list that she had written down after her phone call.

"Pardon?" she said.

"Never mind," Cassian said quickly, turning back to the kitchen space and re-focusing his attention on the cup of the tea he was making.

"No no," Jyn said. "What did you say?"

Cassian took a deep breath.

"A pet," he said. "What do you think about getting a pet? Like… a fish or…"

"You mentioned a dog?" she said. "That's one of those four legged creatures, face often like a Shistavanen?"

Cassian almost hiccoughed with laughter.

"Yes, that's the one. I just thought that it might be nice for us. We roam around here every day, reading up what we can about the world, walking every inch of this town, wary of taking any long trips because we don't want to ruffle any feathers. I can tell you're bored of living the same days. It's part of why you look forward to talking to Chirrut so much, not just because you're so pleased to talk to our friend. I thought a dog might help give you further purpose, help -"

He look a deep breath.

"Help you decide what you want to do here."

"You're assuming we'll never go back," she said quietly. "You go through every day as if you're determined to make a new life here."

"I don't think we're going back," he said. "I don't - the Rebellion feels more and more like a dream with every day that goes past. I don't think we're even in the same universe anymore…"

He was stuttering, knew he was stuttering, when he knew that actually he should say what was really on his mind.

"Honestly, Jyn, I don't want to go back… do you?"

Jyn took a long, deep breath.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I really don't know. I guess - I guess I'm happy to go where you go. We did what we needed to do, didn't we? Sent the plans up, did everything we could to help them."

He poured two cups of tea and passed on to her. She eyed it as it approached, and then took it gratefully.

"We did," he said.

She took a long sip, and then nodded.

"Okay," she said. "Okay, let's get a pet. You're right I - I don't know what I'd want to do here, I've tried not to think about it, I guess."

"Great," Cassian replied quickly, picking up the laptop and coming around to where she sat at the table. "Let's look up what the options are."

Cassian sat eating noodles with Jyn later than evening, happy that he had yet another plan in place to make their lives better, and happier. They had changed the laptop to live news - Jyn enjoyed cycling through different streams to compare the different channels and Cassian enjoyed sitting and laughing as she did so.

"You know, you're right," he said absentmindedly. "I think a rabbit would really only be better if we had a garden. I mean, sure, house rabbits are a thing, but either way -"

"Cassian!" Jyn's voice was so startling it almost made him jump, and he quickly turned to her, checking to see if she was alright.

"What is it?"

"No, look, the TV!"

"It's just the weather, Jyn, American weather - we don't even live -"

"I know, but LOOK!"

He turned and what he heard, but more importantly, what he saw, made his hairs stand on end.


	11. Chapter Ten

Cassian turned the pound coin over and over in his fingers so that after a while he was sure that it would start to give his fingers a tangy metallic smell that he'd want to get rid of. Jyn was sleeping, her head resting on his shoulder, hand lazily clasped in his.

He noticed that that was something they both had started to do, holding hands. He wasn't quite sure when it had begun - perhaps it was when they were sharing a particularly heavy bag of groceries and their hands had brushed and instead of it being weird it just turned into habit. Or perhaps... perhaps it had begun on Scarif, in that other world when they had held each other, expecting to die. That certainly had been a boundary crossed that neither of them would ever come back from.

They were on the train up to a place called London, which Cassian had already remembered was the capital city of the country they were now in. He secretly enjoyed how in this new world everything seemed smaller. His espionage brain, one used to having to remember hundreds of worlds, species, cities, continents all at the drop of a hat suddenly found itself really only having to learn facts about one planet. It was oddly refreshing, and a good distraction from… from that shock on the television the other day.

They had a meeting at the embassy, something about a citizenship interview and determining if they would be good citizens and so on. It was something they had been told about two weeks prior to, and it had dominated a large portion of his mind. Cassian spent a lot of his time making sure that Jyn and himself aced the interviews and at the very least had somewhere stable and comforting they could be. Well, Jyn might not have said that it was something she particularly wanted or needed, but Cassian wanted it, for her.

But what also intruded his thoughts was the figure he had seen on the laptop screen almost a week ago to the day. He was a weatherman: tall with pale skin, a shock of blond hair and an angular face. But it wasn't his appearance that disturbed Cassian: it was the man's voice. He remembered nudging Jyn, the look on his face saying _'surely you hear it too?'_ and she had.

"That can't be," she said. "I mean, they have droids in this world, right? So this can't be, why wouldn't he come back in -"

Cassian had stared, straining his ears to listen until the end of the broadcast and then scrambling to find a way to hear it again. And that was the thing. If he shut his eyes to listen, to really listen, he would have sworn it was the voice of K2-SO.

"I don't know if we're jumping the gun, Cassian," Jyn had said, as she lay next to him in his bed, absentmindedly playing with a loose thread on her jumper.

That was something they had started to do too - sharing a bed in at night. Nothing happened of course, though Cassian sometimes fought to ignore the thoughts that said he certainly would not mind it if something did. But since Jyn had not said anything about wanting anything to happen he most definitely was not going to make things awkward. Yet some - no, most - evenings they now shared a sleeping area, an arm on a chest, hands in hands, faces close, and Cassian couldn't deny that having her there helped him sleep all the better.

"I mean," she had continued. "We're high thinking about Chirrut. It's a miracle he's here, with us. I'm just happy thinking that we might be able to see him again one day, and soon, but we can't sit here thinking that any minute now we'll bump into another old friend somewhere across the street."

She was right. Their hope they would find Chirrut had been so strong, had buoyed them ever further when they found out it was really him; but there was a difference between being hopeful and overthinking things.

But as the train pulled into a station called 'Waterloo', where Cassian knew they had to disembark to get something called the 'Underground' the voice of that man on the television still rolled over and over in his mind. That and the fact that he was worried about what would happen if they failed that citizenship test - would they be shunted from country to country? They had agreed not to think too much about that weatherman that night, and when their embassy date came in Jyn had gone along with Cassian into preparation so that the topic had not come up again.

Yet in a fit of curiosity Cassian had dug, had looked up this 'Kay Touesso' and found out that he had been a homeless man that, in a stroke of luck had found himself picked up by a local television station when he'd saved one of their news reporters from being hit by a car. Cassian still couldn't get the story quite around his head but what had been important was the fact that the man had no home, had been found as a nobody and through sheer luck had been given a chance to come to Cassian and Jyn's attention. After reading that story he had felt something in his gut, an instinct that told him that this guy was Kaytoo, in whatever strange form this world had brought him to them. He wanted to call Chirrut to ask for his opinion but Cassian had restrained himself. He had already dug up more than he meant to, and had closed the tabs of the internet browser, opting instead to find nice things he and Jyn could do in London when they weren't at the embassy.

Jyn woke up as the train came to a halt, and once again, took his hand as they walked off the train, through the barricades, and down the escalators to the Underground.

"How long's this journey?" she asked him softly, as the warm air hit them both the further down they went.

"Twenty minutes, one change," Cassian said, hoping he'd remember it right. He'd check the map in his pocket later.

"I hope we finish before lunch time", he said, as they walked through yet another barrier and got onto yet another escalator that took them down again.

"Oh yes?" she said, still sounding a little tired. She had been a restless sleeper the night before.

"Yep," he said. "I've got a whole day planned of things we can do."

And the smile she gave him as she turned around on the escalator was worth every hour of research.


	12. Chapter Eleven

The embassy was crowded, uncomfortable, sterile. Not sterile in the clean, prescriptive manner that Cassian had seen in nicer Empire buildings, nor in the purposeful, pleasant style he had seen on some of the more well to do Alliance-friendly planets. No, the embassy was sterile in way that was decidedly lazy. It screamed out that it, quite frankly, did not give a shit about what you thought of their building and therefore by extension the people in it and the services they provided. It made Cassian feel uneasy in a way he could not quite put his finger on.

He had spoken as such to Jenny about what they needed to do before the trip down, and she had assured him that the process was simple, that it had been done by many people before and that he needn't worry.

"The process with the American Embassy if you want to travel there... well it just takes so long you could be waiting weeks even after you're granted citizenship. I'll help you put in the paperwork now and then it will at least get the ball rolling."

So the enjoyment Cassian and Jyn had when they took the underground, the wonder and interest they felt walking through the London streets, so different and grandiose from what they had seen thus far on this world, had been quickly dampened by the rows upon rows of plastic blue chairs they had to sit in to wait until their number was called.

"We arrived on time," said Jyn, sounding disgruntled. "We've been waiting half an hour already. Why didn't they just tell us to come later?"

Cassian had spent the time pacing around here, observing some of the other citizens.

"It seems we were two of around fifty other people told to come at nine thirty."

Jyn crossed her arms.

"This is ridiculous."

The code C19 finally flashed on the screen and both Cassian and Jyn found themselves mid nudge to one another. Grinning to each other despite the fatigue from the wait they got up from their seats and walked towards the booth.

"Hello," said a spotty looking, bespectacled boy. "Papers please."

Cassian took the papers out from the folder Jenny had given him and passed them through the slot in the clear glass that separated him from the boy.

Two stamps, some typing on the keyboard, a few more stamps, a couple of finger print scans, and a couple more words typed.

"Thank you, that'll be all."

"That'll be all?" said Jyn incredulously, but Cassian gently took her arm, hoping it would encourage her to walk away.

The boy looked wearily at her through heavy-lidded eyes.

"You'll hear back from us via email for your next appointment, if needed."

Cassian gritted his teeth and pulled her away.

"Thank you," he muttered quickly.

When they were about five feet away from the booth he relinquished his grip and she fell in step beside him.

"What did you do that for!" she whispered. "I was going to ask him more questions!"

"Remember what Jenny said? We just have to do along with it and not cause trouble?"

Jyn gave Cassian a dirty look but said nothing, and by the time they had reached the government centre they had been told they had to go to for their citizenship interview she was chatting casually with Cassian again.

"...those pillars," said Jyn, pointing as they walked down a row of smart looking houses. "They look just like ones that I saw in a picture book about Naboo when I was younger."

Cassian smiled to himself as he continued to talk. He enjoyed seeing Jyn like this, at her happiest thinking and talking about her childhood and the people she loved the most. It had made their learning for the citizenship test enjoyable. Jenny had come to the small flat, had given them books and websites to read in order to be able to study for the questions that they were going to be asked. Jyn had ended up turning it into a game, associating songs with ones she knew from their life before, recalling which battle manoeuvres were like which, what food reminded her of what. Jenny had told them not to be nervous, but both Cassian and Jyn had wanted to be thorough: getting citizenship would mean they would eventually be able to travel, and that meant that they might finally, at long last, be able to get more answers.

Jyn's game had meant that they ended up doing far more learning than they probably needed to, but Cassian had found himself enjoying their learning, and it was with a certain amount of hope that they sat in a much nicer room than they one they had graced in the American embassy.

"Jyn Erso?" called out a plummy voice from the white door that was opposite them.

Cassian reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Good luck," he whispered.

He sat there for a good ten minutes, tapping his fingers absentmindedly against his thigh for want of something to do.

After around twenty minutes the door opened and Jyn came out. He looked up eagerly, searching her face. She smiled at him, and his spirits lifted.

"Cassian Andor?" called out the same voice.

He stood up on his cue and found himself ushered into a clean room with one table in the middle, a chair on each side.

"Take a seat," said the woman who had called his name, sitting opposite him.

She looked down at the clipboard in her hands.

"Cassian Jerón Andor," she said. "I've heard about your circumstances. Very unique. You've got glowing recommendations from your social worker, so I hope that bodes well for you."

Cassian ventured an answer.

"I hope so too, ma'am."

"Great," she said. "Let's start with the interview then, shall we?"

He nodded, clasping his hands on the table in front of him.

"Is the following a British invention..."

An hour later Cassian was sitting next to Jyn, both holding ice creams in their hands, both caught up in the silence of delicious food.

"This is too good," Jyn said, closing her eyes amongst the bliss of sugary enjoyment. "This is just too good. Where has this been my entire life?"

"In another universe," Cassian replied, and the two smiled at one another.

Without even thinking about it, he reached out and took her hand.

"I've got that sightseeing planned, remember?" he said. "Shall we go?"

Jyn took another lick of the soft serve and nodded, getting to her feet but keeping her hand in his.

"Lead the way."


	13. Chapter Twelve

Jyn licked the ice cream and shut her eyes as she felt the cold taste of the sugary cream flood into her mouth, overtaking all her senses.

She smiled and opened her eyes.

"Is this not the most delicious thing you've ever tasted?" she said, turning to the figure on her left.

They were sitting on the grass in a large park that had been labelled on multiple signs as 'Hyde Park'. Cassian had looked at the various notes he had written on a small piece of paper when they had first passed through the gates and insisted that Jyn walk with him to a small van that had the shape of a confection she had never seen before fastened on top of its roof.

Ten minutes later they were sitting side by side, eating the delicious dessert out of a wafer cone, basking in the May sunshine.

"If I have ever had anything better I do not remember it," Cassian replied in-between licks.

Jyn saw him look down at the cheap watch he had purchased. She kept telling herself she ought to get one, but always ended up forgetting. Ever since they had begun living a life that for once did not depend on urgency Jyn rarely found herself checking the time. She had started to draw in her spare time, something she had always wished she could do but was merely alright at. Now she had all the time in the world to try and improve it, and no one really needed a watch for that.

"Let's go," he said.

"Already?" she replied. "But our ice creams-"

"We can eat it on the way," he said. "I have another thing planned for you."

He stood to his feet and held out his hand to her. She took it willingly and only after they had walked several steps did she realise that neither of them had let go of the other. For some strange reason she did not mind. So many years keeping people at arms length and for whatever reason she did not mind holding Cassian's hand as they strolled through the park together. It was like he had said in a world that seemed to be a lifetime ago. It was like being home.

"I was hoping we'd catch the seven fifteen train back home," he said. "But I looked up places to eat and I found one I hope you'll like."

Jyn thought she understood why he was doing this. He could not have missed her hours at the table drawing memories from her childhood, could not have missed her face glued to the television any time the six o'clock news appeared. She yearned for experience, for travel, all the things that required them to have jobs, to have money.

They strolled for around thirty minutes through bustling streets and beneath bright screens feature advertisements the kind she had seen in her childhood on Coruscant before Cassian stopped. Jyn looked up at the sign.

'Herman ze German'

"What's this?" she said, her eyebrows furrowed.

She followed him inside, listening as he spoke.

"It's a hot-dog and fries place," he said.

"A what?"

"It's a kind of a sausage in a bun with sauce on top," Cassian said quickly. "But I looked up ratings of places, and people really seem to love it here."

Jyn had enjoyed discovering new food since their arrival to this strange world, much of it had been delicious, the flavours different and yet familiar to so many foods she had loved as a child. One of her favourites had been fries and she sat in the underground seating area waiting as Cassian ordered, peering around her curiously at the meals other customers were eating.

"Five minutes," she heard him say, as he slotted into the seat opposite her. "They'll bring the food."

She nodded.

"Cassian," she said quietly. "So. This TV weatherman."

Since he had seen the figure on the television, the one that even Jyn could not deny sounded like his old droid, Cassian had been reluctant to talk about it, and she understood why. For a very long time the droid had been his only friend, a figure that represented companionship and Jyn knew the demise of Kaytoo had hit him hard. She suspected that was why he had pushed so hard for a pet, that somewhere deep down it was as much for him as her. But now it had been several days, and if this weatherman was some strange incarnation of their friend, Jyn wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"I was probably imagining it," he said.

She shook her head. He had done digging, she knew it, but here he was, afraid that he would hope. She needed to him to know that he had the right to hope.

"It was my turn to do some digging," Jyn said. "You're not imagining it at all, Cass. I think it is him."

The hope in his face when he looked up at her almost broke her heart.

"How do you know?"

"This weatherman, his name's Kay Toussant! Kay Toussant! Can't you imagine Kaytoo laughing to himself when he gave that name? But - wait, listen to me. He was this homeless man a couple of months ago who saved this reported being hit by a car. They chat away and she realises the man's pretty damn funny. Sounds like Kaytoo, huh? Well, turns out she's someone that works for this television network and as a wild card she asks him to audition because they're hiring a new weatherman. Fast forward a couple of days later and -"

"He got the job."

"Exactly," said Jyn, a smile on her face. "Sounds like him, doesn't it? But Cassian, the timeline adds him. This paper - I saved the article, he said he'd only been homeless a couple of weeks before he was found. He said he'd lost absolutely everything. Sounds like he's become quite a bit of a local celebrity."

"Kay Toussant," said Cassian quietly, his voice filled with awe. "Do you really think -"

"Two hotdogs, one fries and one cheese fries?"

The waitress looked down at both of them and Cassian gestured at the table.

"Yes, thank you."

Jyn reached forward and plucked one of the cheese fries, not caring that it was so hot that it threatened to burn her fingers.

"Yes Cassian," she said, feeling even more pleasure because lord, were these fries delicious. "Yes, I really think it is him."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

"No way!" said Jyn, her fingers enjoying the sensation of soft, warm fur beneath it.

"Yep," said a voice on the other line. "Over a million shares of my first time in front of the camera. They had to keep me after that. I'd say I was surprised, but when it comes to my charming personality it almost seems inevitable."

Jyn laughed as the small dog on her lap looked up and sniffed at the digestive biscuit that she was eating.

"No," said Jyn softly.

"No? No to what?"

"Not to you, Kay," said Jyn. "We got a dog. Cassian and I."

"You got a pet?" spluttered Kay through the receiver. "You got a pet!?"

"Yes…" said Jyn hesitantly. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," said Kay. "They're not very useful, are they? They just kind of frolic around - I could make complex strategic decisions."

"You weren't ever a pet, Kay -"

"Of course I wasn't! I wasn't saying I was - Well, what's this animal you've purchased?"

"She's a small dog from a rescue shelter," said Jyn, smiling. "We're still trying to think of a name for her."

"Well don't be one of those people that name their dogs stupid names, like… I dunno… Imposter or something like that. You can't use abstract names."

Jyn looked up as Cassian walked back into the kitchen, hair wet from the shower. The dog looked up, tongue lolling, and jumped off her lap to greet him. They grinned at each other.

"Kay says we can't call her abstract names," Jyn said.

"Is that Cassian?" said Kay on the other end. "Pass the traitor over, will you?"

Jyn lowered the phone from her ear and held it out to the former Captain, who reached out to take it.

"Not jealous, is he?" he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Not at all."

She crouched down to pet the little dog as Cassian paced around the room, chatting animatedly to his friend. The past few days had been brilliant, exciting, _happy_. They had come home from the day out in London worried about the interview, hopeful that they had found Kay, wondering how Chirrut was. So the next day she and Cassian had gone to a shelter and a couple of days later after a thorough assessment they had brought home this happy little dog that wagged her tail whenever you came home. A day later, the good news came. Citizenship had been granted, Jenny had come over to celebrate and both of them felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Chirrut had been raising money for a plane ticket to see them and he was already halfway towards his goal through the kindness of generous donors.

They had talked to Jenny about him, too, explained - without sounding too improbably strange - their situation. She had promised them that she would look into possibilities for him.

Now this. That strange, unrobotic, very human looking weatherman on the news named Kay Tousant was their old friend, merely in a different form. Cassian had been over the moon when they found out and had talked to him on the telephone every day for the past two days.

"Hey Jyn," said Cassian.

She looked up from the dog.

"Hm?"

"Apparently there's this program called - what was it Kay - Skype. It's called Skype and as long as you have internet you can make free calls to anywhere."

Jyn smiled and internally breathed a sigh of relief. She had to top up the phone this morning, had squirmed that it was the third time between her and Cassian's calls she had to top it up that week. Free calls sounded good.

"We can just set it up on the laptop," Cassian continued.

"I'll take a look," she replied.

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in front of a screen looking at man with sandy hair, a hooked nose and penetrating eyes.

"I would not have imagined you to look like that in human form," said Jyn.

"I know - I mean I'm still learning the standards of beauty in this world, but I can't imagine I look too bad, can you?"

Cassian laughed.

"No, I can't," he laughed.

"Look, I've gotta get to work soon," said Kay. "But I'll talk to you both soon, okay? When I've got my paperwork and stuff sorted here I'm sure I'll get to find a way to see you both. These dollars they have as currency - they pay me an awful lot of it."

"You were always strangely lucky, Kay," Jyn replied.

"Well, let me know if you need any - there must be some way I can send some over."

Cassian and Jyn closed the video window and then turned at each other, beaming.

"Kaytoo as a human," Cassian breathed out softly. "Who'd have thought it?"

Inbetween them the dog yapped and Jyn laughed happily. For the first time everything seemed to be coming together. Slowly, but surely. Without thinking she pulled Cassian into a hug and she felt him laugh on the embrace.

She pulled away a fraction and suddenly realised quite how close he was. The smile was still on his face, as was hers, but the smile had changed, had suddenly turned nervous. She could see every fleck in his eyes, feel how warm his breath was, mingling with hers…

They both jumped as the telephone on the table rang and they sprang apart. Jyn's hand got there before Cassian's did.

"Hello?" she said, feeling an odd sense of loss mingling with the joy of hearing Chirrut's voice on the other end of the line.

"Yeah," she said, mouthing 'Chirrut' so that he understood. "I'm okay, you?"

"Oh! I have news too," she continued. "You go first - I - oh okay, well, we got a dog! But you go as well I can tell you all about her afterwards -"

She gasped so loudly that the dog who was pawing at her leg stopped and cocked its head, confused.

"What is it?" Cassian asked, his hands grasping her arm.

Jyn turned to look at him, wearing what must have been the fiftieth smile of the day on her face.

"You're not gonna believe this."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

"Fetch."

No positive response.

"No Mothma, the ball's that way."

"I think you fell down at the first hurdle by calling the dog Mothma, Jyn," said Bodhi Rook through the telephone.

"Kaytwo," Jyn replied, wandering around the garden. "I suppose I should say Kay… the name was his idea."

"You fell down at the second hurdle, then."

"He is good at strategic analysis."

"He was good strategic analysis," said Bodhi. "Now he tells people about the weather. He's not a droid any more, remember."

Jyn sighed.

"Yes, I suppose I do, though... it doesn't mean he's lost those skills. but who knows with all this, I suppose..." she searched in her head for a different topic, but Bodhi beat her to it.

"Do I need to bring a towel?" he asked.

Jyn picked up the ball slobberingly offered to her and threw it across the flat's garden.

"I would just in case," she said. "The third one in the house is for the dog."

"Towel it is," Bodhi replied. "Do you want me to bring you anything from the city?"

Finding Bodhi had been nothing short of a miracle. Chirrut's headline tale of discovery had been noticed by another, by one Bodhi Rook that had emerged out of nowhere in London and took a chance that the monk discovered in Hong Kong might just be his long lost friend. Bodhi was now living in London, was due to take his citizenship test next week but had enough money to get a train down to visit Jyn and Cassian. He was not as lucky as Kay, who by his telling had become so much of a local celebrity that people had been more than enthusiastic to help sort out his citizenship and social security issues.

"I was told," said Kay. "That apparently things would be faster for me because I was what they call - wait, let me check - white... male and... straight."

Jyn had asked him why all of those things were meant to make things easier for him.

"I'm not entirely sure," she remembered Kay saying. "But they said that's what I was and it helped. Apparently the last one is a categorisation of your sexuality."

Jyn had asked him to explain more about that too.

"Well," Kay had said. "Apparently they feel it's a necessary thing to categorise here. I was a bloody robot a month ago, remember? How the hell should I know if I'm any of those damn terms they keep on saying I am?"

But he had been making friends, and that had made both Jyn and Cassian happy.

Whilst every new friend Jyn met had elated her, made her feel re-connected with people that she was sure would have been close friends with had they survived… in this new world… she felt that for some reason Cassian did not feel the same way when she told him about Bodhi's discovery. She knew by now not to pry: knew that if Cassian didn't want to tell you something he wouldn't. But nevertheless, she hoped that whatever was making him feel uncomfortable would be dispelled or dealt with by the time Bodhi arrived that evening.

"You know what, Jyn," she heard Bodhi say on the other end of the line. "I'd best finish packing if I'm going to show up at yours with anything other than the skin on my back. I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Yeah," Jyn replied. "Give us a call when your train has left Waterloo."

"Roger that. Bye, Erso."

Jyn hung up the phone and turned go inside, the little dog following her up the stairs and back into their flat. Cassian was reading at the kitchen table, and only when she came closer did she realise that it was a cookbook. He nodded as she came in: and there it was again, a smile that was more tense than glad.

"Pasta," he gestured to the pages. "I bought the sauce and everything. Thought we could make him a nice meal."

"That sounds good," she replied, joining him at the table. "What can I do?"

"Oh no," he said. "I'll do all the cooking."

"Well I can help with something," said Jyn, remembering her parents at the table together, one chopping, the other stirring.

"No," he said quickly. "I want to do it."

So Jyn sat on the couch that even as she listened to Cassian chop food. She twirled the phone in her hands, lit up when she saw Bodhi's message that the train had left the station.

"He'll be here in forty-five minutes," Jyn announced. "Shall we go get him?"

"You go," said Cassian quietly. "I'll meet you when you get back."

"Are you sure -"

"I have to finish the sauce," said Cassian. "I want to make sure it's hot for when he gets in."

Jyn frowned, but she didn't question it.

"Okay," she replied quietly, and bent down to attach Mothma's lead onto her collar. "I'll see you later then."

Jyn felt uneasy as she walked down the road with the dog, and she mulled Cassian's actions over in her mind, hoping she'd be able to understand by the time Bodhi showed up.

He had been the one that found Bodhi, been the one that had faith in the pilot, brought him back to himself. Bodhi had been quiet, selfless, had stood by Jyn even when people were questioning their faith in the whole enterprise. Perhaps he even knew Bodhi better than she did. So why would Cassian look less than delighted upon finding their friend was alive? Jyn stopped in the street, realisation dawning. Up ahead was the train station. She checked her watch: Bodhi's train should be getting in soon. It made sense now, or at least it did if she hadn't figured it wrong, and this time she was fairly sure she hadn't.

"Jyn!" she heard a voice cry, and she looked up.

There he was.

They talked all the way home, all the way back to the flat. He was happy in London, had been advised on taking engineering courses as it would help him capitalise on skills he already had.

"I just told them I remembered being a pilot," he said, as Jyn unlocked the door. "You know, I think I might like being a pilot in this world too. I might go to a flying school or something instead. There are pilots that fly people around for pleasure - pleasure! I think I'd like to do that."

"That sounds great, Bodhi," said Jyn, who thought there might be no better job for the kind and thoughtful man.

Jyn pushed the door open.

The food was hot on the table, steam rising off in curls from the plates laid out for them. Cassian stood by them, a smile on his face.

"Hey Bodhi," he said.

"Cassian!" said the other man, striding forward and hugging his friend. "It's great to see you."

"I want to apologise," said Cassian quietly. "For Eadu."

Bodhi frowned in confusion.

"You were trying to help us," Cassian pushed on, as Jyn quietly unhooked Mothma's lead and pretended not to be listening. "And I used that… used that to lead an innocent man to his death."

Bodhi put a hand on Cassian's shoulder.

"It's all in the past, Cas," he said. "And Galen… I think Galen would have understood too."

The two men stood in silence as Jyn poured herself a cup of tea.

"Well, this looks amazing," Bodhi finally said.

"Yes," said Jyn, finally feeling she could interject. "Let's eat."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

"Victoria," said Bodhi scrunching up his face. "That's the right queen, yeah?"

Jyn looked down at the flashcards she was holding. Bodhi had spent the night before making them carefully and meticulously. All three of them had spoken about the transition from Aurebesh to what Cassian said confidently was called the Roman Alphabet. Cassian had taken to it quite quickly and Jyn almost didn't remember having trouble with it when they had first arrived.

But Bodhi seemed to have become a student of the language. He had worked hard on his handwriting, checked through every word so that it was written to his satisfaction. Jyn felt bad in comparison: his writing was so perfect looking.

"That's right, yes," she said, shuffling the cards neatly. "And that's twenty out of twenty right."

Bodhi sank back into their couch, looking calm.

"Good," he said. "Nothing to worry about then."

"You've got two more days," said Jyn. "It's looking great."

"When's Kaytoo - I mean, Kay - when's Kay coming again?"

"In a few weeks," said Jyn. "When he's got his next pay check."

Bodhi nodded.

"And Chirrut?"

"When he's managed to cobble enough together," she said. "It might take a while."

"And Base? Still nothing."

Jyn sighed and took a sip of her tea.

"Nothing."

"What about Bistan? And… what was his name… Ruestan? Other members of the Scarif forces?"

Jyn had nothing to say. She had thought about the rest of them, if briefly, on the day they had found Chirrut. The thought of them had been joyful, the idea that amidst all that death and destruction her friends had survived… but that dug up other questions. What about Krennic? What about other Empire forces? What did this mean?

"You haven't let yourself think about it?" he asked.

Her eyes met those of her friend's.

"I get it," he said. Bodhi got slowly to his feet. "Forget I asked. Don't worry yourself. I'm gonna have a shower, that ok?"

Jyn nodded.

"Go ahead," she said.

She sat alone for a while, got up and threw away the takeout boxes, washed the mugs, all as her mind stayed numb and went through the gestures. In the background she heard the sound of the shower pitter-patter like rain.

Behind her the door unlocked and Jyn spun around.

"Hello," said Cassian, smiling as he saw her.

She walked forward and pulled him into a hug that she felt him hold onto tightly.

"How was your interview?" she asked.

"I feel like yours yesterday went better," he admitted.

"I accidentally called the man a twit," Jyn said, her eyebrows raised.

"I talked about how much I liked dogs for about half an hour. Even when the lady didn't ask… I just ploughed on. They'll think I'm mad."

Jyn laughed and steered him towards the plate of food she had left out for him, as he had done for her at lunch the day before.

"I loved it there, though," said Cassian. "They get new dogs in the shelter every day, and they take cats too. I feel like I'd really enjoy myself there, you know."

Jyn nodded as she watched Cassian bite into the piece of pizza.

"I get that," she said. "It's the same reason I hope that CRB check comes through okay. That nursery felt like a great place. Unlikely I'll get that particular one, though."

Cassian shrugged.

"There'll be another one," he said calmly. "Hopefully that check thing comes before your interview at that 'Happy Hands' place next week."

Jyn sighed and poked one of Cassian's meatballs with her fork and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Maybe," she shrugged.

The truth was that she had been considering working for animal shelters as well. The thought had come to her after that last disastrous nursery interview and Jyn had started to question if she was really up for the job, if helping to bring up children was really the right fit for her. She had remembered being a kid, remembered the isolation, even though she might have been surrounded by adults that loved her. She wasn't sure that she should have little minds looking up to her after that.

Yet she loved and enjoyed spending time with Mothma. She was slowly training the rescue dog, enjoyed spending time in her day teaching her tricks. But then there was the fact that Cassian seemed set on trying to get a job at one of the local shelters. Jyn thought Cassian would be good at something more intense, like those private security people or police commanders she saw on TV: but he had railed against anything like that, and she had left it alone.

For a while she wondered why she held off applying to animal shelters too. Cassian wouldn't get upset or irritated - hell, he'd probably get excited that they might be working together. But when she and Bodhi were out picking up pizza for dinner the day before he had managed to unpack it for her.

"Well it's because you don't want him to think that you need to spend all your time with him, right?" Bodhi said, unabashed. "You spend so much time together, have done since you got here so you want to believe that you can make it on your own too."

And he had been right.

"Hey Cassian!"

Jyn was shaken out of her thoughts by Bodhi emerging from the shower dressed in pyjamas. The two men started talking jovially, Bodhi asking him questions about his interview.

She wandered out of the kitchen and walked into the bathroom, trailed by Mothma. Jyn turned to see the little dog sitting there, staring up at her with wide eyes.

"Go on, go," said Jyn. "I'm about to take a shower."

The dog did not budge, but continued to stare keenly. Jyn moved aside the shower curtain and began to run the bath. She wished Baze were here. He and Chirrut were inseparable yet each as one: he would understand her plight. She began to disrobe, the little dog undeterred as she got into the bath, continuing to look up at her with bright eyes.

"What do you think I should do, Mothma?" she asked.

The little dog cocked its head.

"You and me both," she murmured, resolving to speak to Chirrut about it when she was next able. "You and me both."


End file.
